


Go Fish

by necromantrix



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:50:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8472598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/necromantrix/pseuds/necromantrix
Summary: Chance does strange things sometimes; things even Fate can't tell are happening until they already have.





	1. Through the Rift

**Author's Note:**

> I want it to be known that I have no idea where this fic is going to end up or what's up with that terrible title, but here's chapter one! I hope to get this done before RQ pops up in canon and shatters how I write her. Expect fluff and some angst, ideally. I still have no idea how the AO3 tagging system works.

               Poker nights with Istus are somehow more casual than the ones with just the Raven Queen, and Kravitz has never been sure why that is. He suspects it might have to do with the emotional (or he thinks it’s emotional—they are goddesses, after all, so emotions might not apply in the same way) effect Istus has on the Raven Queen and vice versa. While he enjoys game nights with the Raven Queen, _his_ queen, game nights with the two of them have a special place in his heart. It always feels more familial than anything he’s experienced since becoming a bounty hunter.

               While this is one of those nights, there’s an added bit of stress this time; Taako is attending with him, and that terrifies him for some reason that he can’t place. Or maybe it’s a reason he doesn’t _want_ to place. He’ll never admit it to himself, but that might be more accurate. He doesn’t like admitting what that elf wizard has started to mean to him. He shouldn’t mean _anything_ to Kravitz, mortal as elves are even with their extended lifespans. Besides, there’s always a chance something will happen and another contract will open on him. He hopes that won’t happen, but there’s always a chance.

              He isn't even really sure  _why_ he's bringing Taako. He tries to think back on what ridiculous logic led him to make this decision, but he comes up empty. There wasn't any logic, he guesses. _Perfect, just perfect._ At least Taako already knows Istus. That makes this make a little more sense.

               Kravitz pulls himself out of these thoughts suddenly, missing a question Taako asks him. “Hm? What? I’m sorry.”

               Taako chuckles, working his hair into a braid. “I asked how I look, my fella. I know I’ve met Istus before, but the Raven Queen? _Boy howdy_ , making a bad impression there would suck something major. I mean, she’s what? Your employer?”

               “Something like that,” he answers, unsure how to describe his relationship with both goddesses. Yes, the Raven Queen is his employer, but… she’s also something else. They both are.

               “And we _did_ kind of break the rules of life and death, so I’d like her to like me and not, you know, open up a contract on me just because she didn’t like how I was dressed or some shit like that.”

               At this, Kravitz laughs. “I, uh, I doubt that’ll happen. She’s very… chill.”

               “Chill,” Taako repeats. “Cool, cool, good to know, good to know.” He ties off the braid and does a little twirl in place. “So, I look alright? She’s not gonna judge me for wearing color or something, is she?” Here he looks over Kravitz’ somber ensemble pointedly (did the man ever wear anything that wasn’t black?), then smiles as Kravitz shakes his head.

               “She is, uh. She’s dating? I guess dating Istus.” He’s not sure _what_ do call what they have, but they _are_ together. _Do goddesses date?_ He’ll have to ask; he isn’t sure how he hasn’t already. “And you know how she is. She might favor pastels, but they’re still colors. The Raven Queen likes it.”

               “And I _do_ work for Istus now, so that’s perfect. Me wearing color, she wearing color. You and your queen wearing no color.” He holds a hand out to Kravitz, who’s sitting on his bed, and he grins. “Guess we should get this show on the road, hombre. Don’t wanna keep the goddesses waiting.”

               Kravitz nods and stands up, but as he does he can feel Taako’s hand tighten ever so slightly in his own. He goes to say something, but Taako speaks before he can. “This isn’t… This isn’t all just some plan to get my soul to the astral plane, is it? I mean, if it is, I get that, totally, I know it’s your _job_ , but just tell me if it is so I can at least _try_ to kick your ass.”

               This catches Kravitz off-guard, and he flounders for a moment for something proper to say that isn’t just yelling “no” at Taako. “Of course—of course this isn’t that. Look, Taako. I told you I don’t have a contract on you. I worked things out with the Raven Queen. I didn’t—I didn’t lie about any of that, I promise, okay?”

               He knows enough about Taako’s past from the file he read to know why this is a fear he has, and he can’t stop the small pang he feels— _Sympathy,_ he tells himself. _It’s just sympathy._ What he also knows is that Taako doesn’t _know_ he knows, and so he can’t say anything about it to him directly, because that would be both rude and awkward and he does _not_ want to deal with that right now. Instead, he settles for, “I won’t hurt you, Taako. I—I promise. Alright?” It’s a promise he knows he shouldn’t be making, but he does it anyway with ease.

               Taako finally tears his eyes from an apparently interesting spot on the floor between them, raising his eyes to meet Kravitz’. He sees something there—something sincere and caring and, despite Kravitz’ less-than-alive status, _alive_ —and he feels reassured for the time being. Burying whatever lingering fear remains in a practiced way, he smiles again, admittedly less confidently this time. “Let’s do this.”

               Kravitz leans down to kiss Taako’s forehead once, softly, and then he holds his hand out beside him and the scythe appears in it. Careful of anything he might possibly be able to hit in the room, he brings the scythe down in a quick motion to open a rift.

Taako feels his own heart racing, some of that residual fear bubbling up inside himself. _No_ , he tells himself sternly. _Fucking no. Not now_. Tightening his grip on the cold, stable hand in his, he forces that fear down and away. He trusts Kravitz, he thinks. Yes, trust is frightening after what happened last time, but that was years ago. Things are different now. This time he has friends. This time he’s in a stable place with stable people and he can trust.

               He can _try_ to trust.

               Taking a deep, slow breath, he steps through the rift with Kravitz.

\---

               The rift opens into a surprisingly large— _endless_ , Taako realizes with some small headache after a moment—room with a raised table in the middle. Already at the table are two figures, one dark and one light. One, the Raven Queen, is decked out pretty damn aptly, all black and feathers, while Istus is all light pastels as she was the last time Taako saw her.

               “’Sup, Istus,” he says with a grin and a little wave.

               She smiles and waves back. “’Sup, Taako,” she says warmly. “I’m glad to see you’re well.” Her light blue eyes drift from him to Kravitz, the warmth shifting into something just barely different. “And you, Kravitz. It’s been a while.”

               Kravitz smiles apologetically as he approaches the table with Taako, walking up the stairs alongside him. “I’m sorry. I’ve been, uh, busy. I’m sure you know.”

               As they walk up the stairs, Taako can feel the Raven Queen’s eyes on him. Somewhat hesitatingly, he meets her gaze and his breath catches. She’s the opposite of Istus in many ways, all sharp features as opposed to soft, her gaze piercing instead of welcoming, and he feels for a moment like he’s run out of breath altogether and he almost clutches as Kravitz’ arm. But then she smiles an honest, warm smile, and the breath returns to him and he just stares at her.

               “You must be Taako,” she says, her voice lower and smoother than Istus’. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” Her smile turns to something more amused as her gaze flicks to Kravitz, and Taako swears he can feel him tense the slightest bit. “All good things, I promise. Well, besides that nasty business with all your deaths, but Krav and I worked that one out.”

               “Yes—yes we did,” Kravitz says as he pulls a chair out for Taako. “Taako, this is the Raven Queen, the goddess I serve as a bounty hunter for.”

               “Charmed, darling.” Taako smiles lazily as he sits down, still rather unbothered and unawed by the presence of two deities. His gaze falls to the deck of cards in the center of the table as Kravitz takes the seat beside him. “Listen, uh, maybe now might be the best time to tell you that… I can’t fucking play poker. Like, at all. I know poker night’s kinda you guys’ thing, but I can’t play.”

               “That changes things,” Istus says with the tone of someone who doesn’t think things are changed in the slightest. “Kravitz, be a dear and pour some wine. I think poker night just became go fish night.” And she smiles.


	2. An Open Discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I have no idea where I'm going with this but I'm having fun.

               The night goes well. Excellent, actually. They still gamble at go fish like they do poker, with the magical-looking chips that Istus created just for these game nights. Taako fortunately knows the rules of go fish (or he’s very good at catching on—Kravitz refuses to ask), so the game night goes smoothly.

               The bottle of wine is endless, and they all have a few glasses each. Taako’s probably the tipsiest, but that’s also because he’s drinking his wine like it’s fucking _grapejuice_. Of course, that’s not far off from what he’s tasting, and eventually he lets them know. “So, look. I gotta tell you all something. Like, I’m sure this is some fucking rad as hell wine. I’m sure it is. You’re goddesses; I don’t expect you to have anything less than rad. But. _But_. All I taste is fucking go-gurt, my dudes. That’s it. Some fucking sub-par liquidy yogurt. That’s what this tastes like to me.”

               The other three look concerned about this, somewhat unsure about his meaning, but then Istus laughs with a light, musical tone. Her cheeks are flushed lightly, and Kravitz realizes that she’s been using magic to enhance the alcohol content in her cup to be strong enough to affect her. “Oh, that’s right. What was it? A transmutation spell gone wrong? Your first one, too?”

               Taako nods emphatically, pointing a finger gun her way. “You got it, my goddess. Idiot little me tried some shit… some _shit_ I wasn’t prepared for by a _long_ fucking shot.” He waves a dismissive hand tiredly. “But it’s been a long time. ‘M used to it by now.” There’s something in the weight of his words that they all catch, but fortunately he doesn’t seem to notice that they catch it. Also, fortunately, none of them mention it beyond a look exchanged between the Raven Queen and Kravitz. He drops his gaze first, feeling terrifyingly transparent beneath her dark eyes.

               The moment hangs in the air briefly, but they’re there to have fun and so they all let the moment pass and the heaviness dissolve as the game continues.

               “So, Kravitz,” the Raven Queen begins as she looks at her hand once more. The cards are levitated out in front of her, removing the need for her to use her hands. Istus is playing very much the same way, the cards both are using surrounded by a subtle glow hinting at the magic they’re using to keep them afloat. “How has work been lately? You haven’t talked to me about it; I’ve only seen the reports you’ve filed.”

               “Oh, yes. Everything’s been going, uh, fine, my queen.” It seems to him to be an odd time to suddenly discuss work. “There haven’t been any issues or anomalies worth reporting.”

               “That’s good. I’m glad to hear that things are somewhat normal again.” Something in her tone suggests _for now_ , and Kravitz suddenly realizes that she’s either trying to warn him of something or she’s keeping something from him, and he has no idea which it is. “I know things were difficult for a while there. Do you have any fives?”

               Frowning some, he hands over a five and looks back down at his hand. His eyes shift to the side to look at Taako, but he seems to be thinking too hard about what cards he has in his hand to really notice the conversation. Even Istus has fallen silent with her gaze on her own cards, although he can tell _she’s_ listening. “My queen, I—“ He sighs. “Do you, uh, have any eights?”

               “Go fish.”

\---

               Taako all but collapses onto his bed once back in his room, leaving Kravitz standing in the doorway. The door is still open, but through it the common area can’t be seen; it’s merely a slightly-glowing rift between planes. “Your moms are cool,” he mumbles into his pillow as he stretches out with a tired groan, kicking off his shoes.

               “My what?”

               “Your moms. Istus and Raven Lady or whatever it is she’s called,” he says as he climbs under the covers, definitely drunk but overall in good spirits. “I mean, that’s what they are, aren’t they? Why else would you’ve introduced me to them, my man? It was some fucking ‘meet the parents’ situation or something.”

               Kravitz leaves the door open behind himself as he crosses over to Taako’s messy bed, sitting on the edge of it. “I, uh, I hadn’t really thought of it that way. I _have_ known them for a… for a very, _very_ long time. I guess your reading of the situation isn’t completely inaccurate.”

               “Of course it’s not!” Taako reaches a hand out blindly, turning slightly so he’s not quite so buried in a pillow, and he pats Kravitz’ chest a few times as though he’s searching—which he is. He finds his tie, which he grabs to pull the bounty hunter down towards him for a kiss. Unfortunately for him, he’s too drunk to have very good aim, and he ends up pressing a kiss meant for the lips to Kravitz’ ear. “Thanks for inviting me, Krav; definitely an interesting night. Super cool. You’re terrible at go fish.” He lets go and yawns, rolling over to bury his face in his pillow again. “Time for Taako to catch some shuteye.”

               Kravitz chuckles, leaning down to kiss Taako’s temple. “Ah, sleep well, if you’re deciding to actually sleep tonight.” He knows elves don’t normally sleep, but Taako is both drunk and just an unusual case in many aspects. Receiving a tired grunt of acknowledgement, Kravitz stands and heads back through the door.

               Both the Raven Queen and Istus are still sitting at the table, but all traces of the game are gone. “Kravitz,” his goddess tells him, “we need to discuss some things.”

               With only a nod, he closes the door and walks up the stairs to take his seat at the table. “All right. What did you have in mind?”

               “I know you’re growing fond of him. You speak of him a lot and I don’t blame you; I can see why he draws you in. But you need to remember that you’re not of the material plane and you haven’t been for a long, long time. You’re of the astral plane,” she tells him.

               Before she can speak again, Istus rests her hand over hers. “What we’re trying to say is that… we’re glad you’re enjoying yourself, but this… it’s not a good idea. And not just because of the planar issue. There’s… _more_ here than you know. More here than _we_ know.”

               “Istus…” the Raven Queen warns.

               “I know,” Kravitz says, his voice even. His posture is straight and formal, his expression unreadable and businesslike as he looks at them without really seeing them. “This should have—this should have ended a while ago, I know that. I made a mistake by allowing myself to get involved this way.” The words come out easily; this is a job he’s had for as long as he can remember at this point. There’s no point in letting something interfere with his work now, he tells himself. “I’m sorry for my… my lack of professionalism lately. This situation is just, uh, very unique. I can’t help being curious.”

               The Raven Queen nods. “Of course. You haven’t done anything wrong, Kravitz; we just don’t want this to end somewhere bad.”

               He frowns, and he can feel the skin fading from his hands where they’re clasped tightly in his lap. His hold on himself is slipping as he attempts to keep his composure. “I understand. I know that he’s—that they’ve broken so many rules. Once they die it’s off to the Eternal Stockade with all three of them.” Clearing his mind of any inner dialogue, he wills the skin back over bone before standing. “Is that all?”

               “Yes, it is.” He nods at her words, turning to walk back down the stairs.

               “And Kravitz?” Istus asks suddenly, causing him to turn back. There’s a light glimmer in her eyes and she’s smiling. “He’s going to do amazing things, I know it. I can’t promise that everything’s going to be alright, but I do know that he’s going to be wonderful.”

               He stands there for a long moment in silence—or what seems like a long moment to him—doing his best to keep his form intact. Finally, he nods. “Thank you, Istus,” he says before exiting through the rift in the door and into his office.

              Sighing, he sinks into the chair at his desk and lets his more fleshed-out appearance fade away into nothing but bones as he allows himself think. 


	3. Conversation One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The goddesses, they're gay.

               As soon as the door shuts behind Kravitz the room falls away into nothingness, merely becoming a void inhabited by two celestial figures.

               “I don’t like this, love.”

               “I know you don’t, Istus. I don’t like it either. But this is what we do and what we’ve always done.”

               “Things are different this time and you know it. Something’s coming, and I can’t see it. I don’t know… I don’t know what path things are going to take. I can see the points of divergence, but everything after is just… it’s dark. I can’t see until it’s come and by then it’s out of our hands.”

               As she speaks, the long scarf she’s perpetually knitting appears in her hands, the parts she can’t hold floating in the space around her and seeming to fade in and out of this plane in a fluid way. It’s though she’s pulled it from a plane of its own and this void can’t possibly contain it all. She knits her brow as she looks at it, her fingers brushing across some stitches. The scarf is a language only she can read; even the Raven Queen is unable to glean any meaning from its various colors and stitches. “Something’s coming and I fear for my new emissaries. They’re wonderful and they’re going to continue to do such amazing things, but I… I can’t see the outcome.”

               The Raven Queen snakes her arms around Istus’ waist, resting her chin on the other goddess’ shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking.”

               “What’s that?”

               “They remind you of us.” Istus hums softly in answer, and the Raven Queen continues, “It _is_ a bit ironic, I agree, that an emissary for you and a bounty hunter for me have taken an interest in one another. But this is for the best. We don’t know what’s going to happen, and it’s both out of my own selfish caring for my favored bounty hunter and a desire to keep the order of things as stable as possible that I do this. You know that.”

               “Yes, I do.” Istus leans her head against hers, closing her eyes as the scarf flickers from this plane and back to its magical storage. “I fear the coming storm.”

               “So do I, Istus, so do I.”


	4. The Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: Yeah, still no clue what I'm doing. Enjoy.

               Kravitz sits and thinks for quite some time, eventually summoning up the book and letting the pages flip slowly as he looks over current open contracts. Deciding that the only thing he can do to clear his mind is work, he opens a rift. He thinks briefly about leaving his stone of farspeech behind. He knows it’s what the Raven Queen would probably want and what would also be best for thinking; however, those three boys aren’t the best at keeping themselves out of trouble and he’d like to have a direct line of contact with Taako in case something happens. He picks it up off his desk and puts it in his pocket before stepping through.

\---

               Taako wakes up the next morning after one of his rare, usually alcohol-induced nights of sleep and stares up at the ceiling as he tries to shake off the morning grogginess. _This_ is why he never fucking sleeps except in certain moods. The grogginess sucks.

               He can hear someone bustling around the kitchenette—probably Mags, if the consideration of not being too loud is any indication—and he decides to remain in bed for a little while. Last night was fun if not nerve-wracking. Taako’s good at not letting things show at all, but being around _two_ goddesses definitely pushed things. Istus, he’s cool with Istus. She’s nice and warm and only intimidating when she wants to be. The Raven Queen, on the other hand… Kravitz likes her, sure, but she’s scary. Scary in an existential way.

               And then there’s Kravitz, the guy himself. Bounty hunter for the Raven Queen, probably the most handsome man Taako’s ever seen, and unofficially-adopted son of two goddesses. Yeah, definitely out of his league.

Of course, he knows that’s not quite the problem.

               No. The problem is how Kravitz _looks_ at him. He fucking looks at Taako like Taako _means_ something to him. Like Taako hung the moon.

               A silent laugh passes over his lips at the thought, but he can’t stop the pang in his chest. Of course, that’s what it is. Of course. The last person to look at him that way betrayed him no matter what iteration of the story he thinks of. When Taako’s the killer, Sazed leaves. When Taako isn’t the killer, Sazed frames him for the murder of 40 people and leaves. No matter what happens, he’s abandoned.

               It’s only a matter of time before it happens here, he thinks as he clambers out of his bed. On top of knowing how things usually go with those he bothers to trust, there’s also the whole _bounty hunter_ issue. The rules have been bent so many times. Eventually Krav won’t be able to wing doing it again.

               Taako sighs and pulls on a cardigan over his nightclothes before padding out of his room.

               “Morning!” Magnus says brightly. “I made coffee and pancakes.”

               “I’ll just… nevermind.” He wants the caffeine coffee provides, but he doesn’t feel like tasting more go-gurt right now. “I’ll just take, like, one pancake, my man.”

               “You sure that’s all you want?”

               “Yep, sure is, Mags. Sure is. Kind of had a fun night last night, if you know what I mean.”

               “Let me guess, lots of drinking?”

               “Mhm.” He takes the offered plate from Magnus and sits down, toying with the pancake with a fork. “Lots.”

               Magnus sits down across from him, looking at him worriedly. “Eat, Taako. Where’d you get off to last night?”

               “Oh, you know. Around.” He makes a generally dismissive gesture with his hand and Magnus can tell that Taako’s dodging the question, but he decides not to press it. “Look, will you please eat at least half of that?”

               “Fine.” He figures appeasing him will keep further questions at bay. Taako eats in silence, actually finishing the pancake in its entirety, and he keeps any critique about the food to himself.

\---

               His job is an easy routine at this point. Find target through magical means. Identify target. Take target’s soul back to the astral plane. Rarely is a fight a challenge (usually they’re too surprised to put up much of a fight). Sometimes he prefers it when they fight, because that at least shakes up the monotony of his job. That’s not to say he doesn’t enjoy it, though; he likes upholding the order of the way things should be. Most of the time the people on his list are total asshats, too, so there’s always some satisfaction in sending them packing to the astral plane. The paperwork that follows this all isn’t so great, but compromises must be made.

               This routine and monotony allows him to think, for which he’s grateful. So Istus and the Raven Queen don’t want him seeing Taako anymore. So he knows they’re probably right. So he knows that it won’t work out in the long run because he’s immortal and Taako isn’t.

               So what? He’s an employee, not a servant. He’s done this job for longer than he can remember and he’s never felt the desire to bend the rules like this, and that must mean something. If Taako dies, so be it; Kravitz himself is a being of the astral plane. It might actually make things easier.

He brings the scythe down on the halfling woman wanted for _somehow being immortal_ and it cuts directly through her without damaging her, but she still dies. The glowing orb of her spirit floats before him, flickering with irritation and indignation, and he merely waves a hand to send her off. “So what?” he repeats to himself, his Cockney accent for work prevalent.

               He debates on contacting Taako to discuss things with him. After all, he should be made aware of the fact that some danger is coming that has the goddesses afraid. He should be aware that Kravitz _wants_ this to work out. He should be aware of so many things, but Kravitz also doesn’t want to bother him or cling too tightly. Instead, he decides to wait for Taako to call.

\---

               Taako doesn’t call. Not for hours. Not for days. Not for two weeks. Kravitz worries, but he summons up the book and checks that _no, he’s not dead yet_. He checks his stone of farspeech and as far as he can tell Taako has his end muted. Every day he debates on checking in and every day he doesn’t.

               Kravitz doesn’t call, and that’s perfect. Taako’s worried that he will, and then he’ll want to _talk_ , and it’ll have to be _in person_ , and that’ll just be a fucking disaster. It’s better that he doesn’t call, because then they can just stop. Whatever it was they were involved before in can just end and all will be right. It’s easier to walk away than to be the one being left, Taako knows from experience.

               Finally, Kravitz calls. “Taako, are you there?”

               There’s a moment of no response, and then, “Yeah, I’m here. What’s up?” He can hear the fake pep in his voice. It’s the same fake pep he uses whenever a conversation takes a turn towards something more serious and he changes the subject, and Kravitz knows something’s wrong.

               “We need to talk, I think.”

               _Oh, great, here we go_ , Taako thinks. “Yeah? What about?”

               “Uh, a lot. A lot of different things. But listen, Taako, if you don’t want to that’s fine. There are just some… just some things the Raven Queen and Istus—“

               “Your two moms.”

               “—said after our game night that I feel like you should know.”

               The line is silent for a while, and Kravitz wonders if Taako isn’t going to answer at all.

               “Alright, cool, come over. I’m not doin’ anything but sitting here, anyway.”


	5. Opening Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing lasts forever,  
> Some things aren't meant to be;  
> But you'll never find the answer  
> Until you set your old heart free.  
> \- _Hello My Old Heart,_ The Oh Hellos

               Kravitz returns to his office first. There’s paperwork that needs to be done and he can dash it out quickly, but he’d rather it gets done sooner rather than later.

               He stops when he steps into his office, raising a brow at the… _writing_? It isn’t really writing; it’s just a distortion in the lightness of the mirror done in a flowy handwriting. Whatever magic was used to write this, it’s there on his mirror. _Give this to him for me, will you?_

               The handwriting is recognizable as Istus’—the Raven Queen’s handwriting is atrocious, so even if he didn’t know what Istus’ handwriting looked like he could guess—and he knows what she’s put beneath the mirror before he even looks at it. He crosses the room and smiles a little at the sight of the neatly-folded knit sweater. It’s a silvery blue with some subtly metallic threads woven in, and it’s as soft as everything she’s ever knit before.

               Kravitz sits down and fills out the few documents he needs to with an ease that only comes from lifelong practice before he stands up again, gathering the sweater Istus knit for Taako as well as the papers. He steps out into the hallway of the Eternal Stockade, walking a little ways down to the drop box for bounty reports. He drops the papers in and then summons his scythe, tearing open a rift to step through.

               Taako’s sitting on his bed when Kravitz arrives, like he has been since training ended for the day. He looks tired and he’s makeup-less, unusually for him, and he has a book hovering before him. He’s reading over a spell that he’s been trying to learn for hours now, and he looks over when he hears the familiar sound of tearing. “Oh, hey,” Taako says, closing the book. The looks at the knit thing in Kravitz’ arm and raises a brow. “What do you got there?”

               “Istus asked me to give it to you.” He holds it out Taako, who raises a brow and takes it. He unfolds it and laughs when he sees that it’s a sweater.

               “God, she’s such a fucking mom, isn’t she?”

               Kravitz shrugs and smiles a little in response. “Guess so. She’s always been this way.”

               Taako looks at the sweater for a moment. “You can sit, my man. Hold up.” As Kravitz takes a seat on his bed, he takes off his shirt to pull the sweater on instead, and he can’t hide a smile. It’s too big, but that’s intentional. “The other two are gonna be _so fucking_ jealous, let me tell you.” He plops down beside Kravitz, pulling his knees up to his chest under the sweater, which is the perfect size for that.

               His smile fades then as he allows himself to remember why Kravitz is here at all. _Talking. Right._ “ _Sooo,_ what was it they said? Anything important? Concerning? Mean?” He doesn’t know exactly what it is that a goddess could say that Kravitz would think he should know, but…

               “Concerning. Mildly.” Kravitz takes a breath he doesn’t need except to ground himself. “They said this is all a, uh, it’s all a bad idea. For various reasons. Some are more obvious—I mean, you _are_ alive, and I’m, well… I’m _not_ alive—but Istus also mentioned… _something_. She doesn’t know what it is, but something dangerous is coming, I think, and you three are involved.”

               “Okay, the second part of that’s pretty damn scary. Cool, cool. If a goddess is scared I should probably be fucking terrified. Noted. But the first part… I mean, they’re right?” Kravitz looks at him and he notices Taako isn’t looking at him as he speaks. His arms are around his legs and his chin is rested on his knees, his gaze focused on nothing in particular. “I mean, like, what’s the point in all of this?” His voice pitches up, a tell-tale sign that he’s not as cool about this as he wants to seem. “You’re fucking _Death_ , and look, I know you’re a bounty hunter, and it’s only a matter of time before we fuck up again and there’s _another_ bounty on our heads, and I’m pretty damn sure Miss Crow—Raven, _whatever_ —Queen lady isn’t gonna let you keep on fudging your contracts up indefinitely.”

               “An… _exception_ has been made for you three with the input of Istus. I’m not going to hurt you, Taako, I promise. I’m not going to end up coming after a bounty for you.” He rests a cold hand over Taako’s, who clenches his fist.

               “Just—just _stop_ , alright?” Taako’s voice is sharp suddenly, his gaze snapping to meet Kravitz’. He withdraws his hand into his lap. “This is how this always goes. You say these things but something’s gonna happen, I fuck up or whatever, and your entire opinion of me changes and everything goes to _utter shit_. That’s what happens. I am _not_ putting myself in that situation again, Krav. I am _not_.”

               Kravitz goes to say something, but Taako doesn’t let him—he just keeps talking and _dammit,_ he doesn’t want to, but he opened this goddamn waterfall and there’s no stopping it now.

               “You’re too fucking good to me, that’s the problem! I’ve been alone since I was _twelve_ , man, and no one ever cared. Not really. Sure, there were boys—lots of boys, but I never fucking _meant_ anything to them. They never knew a single thing about who or what I used to be and it lasted as long as I was with one caravan, and when one disbanded or I wanted to go another way or whatever, it was over, no hard feelings for the most part. Nothing, the end. Nada. Sure, it wasn’t a fuckin’ fairy tale or what have you, but it was… I could rely on being able to leave and not regretting it. It was always the same.”

               He’s crying now, and Kravitz doesn’t say anything as he wraps a gentle arm around Taako to hold him close. It’s an attempt at being comforting and Taako doesn’t pull away, so he leaves his arm there as he listens.

               “Then I fucked up,” Taako says as he wipes his tears on the too-large sleeve of the sweater. “One of them liked me, he actually _liked_ me, and—and I thought I’d try, you know? I thought I'd try and that turned out like shit. Like, stabbed-me-in-the-back-and-abandoned-me type bullshit, and I just—I _can’t_. It’s so much easier to keep distance. It’s so much easier to not care.” He grips the neckline of the sweater and buries his face in it as he sobs, hoping he can just vanish. Some part of himself hopes this is a nightmare, that he’s _not_ opening up like this. But he is. He is and it’s been done and there’s nothing he can do about it but wait for judgment.

               But judgment doesn’t come. In fact, nothing comes at all for some time. Kravitz merely holds him as he calms his emotions, and rather interestingly Taako doesn’t start getting cold like he’s used to when in contact with Kravitz for too long. He’s still warm in the sweater. Istus is a fucking genius and he'll have to thank her later for that one.

               “I’m not going to stab you in the back or abandon you,” Kravitz says eventually, his voice soft. “I died… a long, _long_ time ago, Taako. The amount of time I was alive is the smallest fraction of my existence. But all this time I’ve been a bounty hunter, I’ve never, _not once_ , felt any desire to break the rules I’ve upheld for so long like I do with you. I’m not going to hurt you. But if you want me to leave, I will, and I won’t resent you for it. I know you’ve been through some… through some rough shit, but I can also tell that you’ve come out wonderful after it all. You’re great, Taako, you’re really great.”

               Taako groans exasperatedly, but Kravitz knows that means he’s feeling slightly better. “There you fuckin’ go again with that kind bullshit,” he mumbles into the sweater. He grips Kravitz’ wrist and shifts his arm so he’s more comfortable, sniffling. “Don’t go, but can we like, _not_ talk about my issues anymore for now? I kind of… lost control of myself there.” He laughs awkwardly.

               “Yeah, sure.” They fall into a pleasant silence, with Kravitz playing lightly with Taako’s messy hair and with Taako enjoying the warmth of the sweater.

               “Yo, Krav?”

               “Yeah?”

               “You’re pretty great too, you know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweater Mom™ Istus was something talked about in the discord chat, so obvs I had to run with it. It was too good not to.


	6. Conversation Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, this is the end of this. It's not where I expected this to go but I'm happy with it.

               Istus looks over the stiches as she knits, smiling a little to herself as she sees something written in them.

               “What is it?” The Raven Queen asks. She’s working as well, but her work is more _official_ -seeming. She’s looking through reports from her bounty hunters, checking to make sure everything is in order as it should be.

               “Oh, nothing. Just a certain divergence was finally revealed.”

               “Is that so?” A paper flutters out from amid the reports, smaller and wholly handwritten. She recognizes the handwriting as belonging to Kravitz and she reads it over in silence, her expression mixed. She seems mostly fearful, but also pleased.

               “Are you actually surprised?” Istus asks after a moment, not looking up from her knitting.

               “No, I’m not at all,” the Raven Queen admits. “After all, he was… he was only human at some point. He’s free to make his own choices.” She looks over at Istus for a moment, raising a brow. “You knew all along, didn’t you?”

               Istus smiles sheepishly at her gaze. “Not exactly, love, but I had a pretty good idea.” Her gaze drops back down to the scarf, and she resumes her knitting, one stitch at a time. It’s a piece of art millennia in the making, a record of all things that have been and that will be; there will be divergences and there are always unknowns, but she has faith that they’ll all keep themselves on the right path.


End file.
